‘Yes, of course,’ Magnus said. ‘Well done, Vigdis. And thanks for keeping me in the loop.’
Magnus finished his coffee as Vigdis left the cafe, leaving hers untouched. He smiled to himself. It felt good to be vindicated, there was no denying it. And he was absolutely sure now that there was a link between this little group and the recent shootings.
His phone rang. Sharon Piper.
He picked it up. ‘Hey, Sharon. Isak’s ID come through?’
‘Soon,’ said Sharon. ‘The witness’s husband has been in touch with his office and we’ve just e-mailed the photo to him. We haven’t heard back from his wife yet.’
‘Why the hell not? Tell her to pull her finger out. It’s important.’
‘Steady on, Magnus, hold your horses. There is some news from Normandy.’
‘Oh, yes?’
‘A girl in a bakery in a village a few kilometres from where Lister was shot served a customer the morning before the shooting. He was wearing a light blue jacket and he drove a motorbike with Dutch licence plates.’
‘The same guy the farmer saw?’
‘Sounds like it.’
‘Did she give a better description?’
‘Yes. But the really interesting thing is the coin the man gave her for change. At first she thought it was twenty cents, but then it turned out to be something else.’
‘Let me guess. Icelandic kronur?’
‘You’re right. A fifty-kronur piece.’
‘Jesus. So what’s the description?’
‘Good-looking guy. Dark hair, unshaven. Blue eyes. Slim but strong. About thirty, thirty-five. Fairly tall, maybe one metre eighty-five. That’s about six-foot one.’
‘I know.’
‘It’s not Isak,’ said Sharon. ‘But is it Harpa’s boyfriend, Bjorn?’
‘Could well be,’ said Magnus. ‘The description fits.’
‘OK, I’ll tell SO15 that.’
‘SO15?’
‘The Counter Terrorism Command. There’s a lot of people getting very excited over here. I think your guys are going to hear from our people pretty soon. Or from the French. Can you send over a photo of Bjorn?’
‘Yeah. Maybe.’ Magnus thought it through. ‘I’m technically off the case and out of the police station. The Icelanders are going to be real sensitive about this. You know what cross-border cooperation can be like once things get political.’
A year before, in Boston, Magnus had been investigating a case involving a Canadian citizen in Montreal. The RCMP had been much less helpful than usual. The Canadians had taken exception to their informal help in another case leading to a terrorist suspect being arrested and taken to Guantanamo Bay. Since then everything had had to go through official channels. A pain, but Magnus could see their point.
‘Your guy can expect to hear from someone shortly,’ said Sharon.
‘Thanks, Sharon.’
So it was Bjorn who went to Normandy. Via Amsterdam, probably. Hired a motorcycle there, or stole one. Or borrowed one. Got hold of a rifle. Drove to Normandy and buried it.
And it had been Isak who had done similar legwork in London. Located Oskar’s address. Perhaps got hold of the gun, the motorbike.
But for whom? Neither of them had shot anybody. Nor had Sindri: he was in Iceland the whole time. There was someone else. Someone who could use a gun, who wasn’t afraid of killing, but who wasn’t able to make his own preparations. Perhaps wasn’t well travelled enough. Perhaps didn’t speak English.
Who could it be? Magnus had no idea.
It should be straightforward to check whether Bjorn flew to Amsterdam the previous week, though.
Magnus had to see Baldur right away. He hurried out of the cafe and into the police headquarters.
‘Where’s Baldur?’ he asked Vigdis.
‘With the Commissioner. I think Thorkell is in there too. They are discussing whether to arrest Bjorn and Sindri.’
‘I’ve got to see him.’
‘I don’t know how long he’ll be.’
‘Then I’ll interrupt him. Arni, check and see whether Bjorn was on any flight to Amsterdam last Thursday and Friday, and if he came back to Reykjavik on Saturday.’
‘What’s happened?’
‘He’s the guy the farmer saw the day before Lister was shot. The Dutch guy. Except he wasn’t Dutch, he had Icelandic coins in his pocket. Vigdis, come with me. I may need your help.’
Magnus noticed a thin file on his desk. He glanced at it. The pathologist’s report on Benedikt Johannesson’s murder. He left it there and headed for the door.
The Commissioner’s office was only a couple of hundred metres away, over a busy intersection in a modern building on the road that overlooked the bay. On the way, Magnus told Vigdis more about Sharon’s call.
They were dodging through the traffic when Magnus felt his phone vibrate. He took a quick look. Sharon Piper.
‘Hi, Sharon.’
‘Things are really hotting up. Just got a call from a student at the LSE, a friend of Isak’s. This student was a research assistant for a junior treasury minister over the summer. Anyway, Isak asked him over the summer if he knew where Julian Lister went on holiday. The student thought it a little strange at the time, but he told him about the place in Normandy.’
‘Jeez. Are you arresting Isak?’
‘I expect so. Haven’t told SO15 yet, I thought I’d give you a heads-up first. They are going to go crazy over there. Oh, and we finally got the ID through from the French woman in India. It
‘Big surprise. Thanks, Sharon. Before you go, I’ve been thinking. Seems to me that Isak and Bjorn were both acting as point men for someone else. The guy who actually pulled the trigger. Isak in Kensington and Bjorn in Normandy.’
‘Who’s the guy?’
‘No idea. But I bet he’s an Icelander. And I’d guess one who doesn’t speak English.’
‘Worth a thought. I’ve got to go now, Magnus.’
Magnus hung up and ran into the Commissioner’s office building. The Commissioner’s office itself was guarded by a secretary. As she picked up the phone to tell her boss about Magnus, he pushed past her and burst in, Vigdis trailing behind.
There were four people in the office: Baldur, Thorkell, the Police Commissioner and a silver-haired man whom Magnus recognized as the Prosecutor, the senior lawyer within the Police Department.
Snorri Gudmundsson glared at Magnus as he entered. ‘What the hell do you think you are doing?’
‘I’ve had a call from London. Bjorn Helgason has been identified in Normandy the day before Julian Lister was shot. And Isak Samuelsson asked an intern who worked in the British treasury about Lister’s vacation plans. I’m sorry to barge in, but I thought you ought to know before the British police call. Or the French.’
Snorri breathed in. Thought for a moment. ‘Is it a firm ID of Bjorn?’
‘Not yet. But it will be once we send a photograph.’
‘You can’t be sure of that,’ said Baldur.
Snorri raised his hand to quieten his inspector. ‘This changes things. Baldur, I want Bjorn and Sindri arrested immediately. And Harpa Einarsdottir.’
‘On what charge?’ said Baldur.
‘Gabriel Orn’s murder for now,’ said Snorri. ‘Once they are in custody we’ll see if we can expand it to the other two cases. I need to be up to speed for when the British call. Magnus, you stay here.’
Magnus stayed as Baldur left with Vigdis. He took Baldur’s chair. Thorkell and the Prosecutor were listening closely.
